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Cited by 79Medical Coding and Health InformationCardiovascular Syncope and Autonomic DisordersClinical Reasoning and Diagnostic Skills

Accuracy of the ICD-10 discharge diagnosis for syncope

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Ruwald, M. H., Hansen, M. L., Lamberts, M., Kristensen, S. L., Wissenberg, M., Olsen, A.-M. S., Christensen, S. B., Vinther, M. +4 more·2013·Europace
DOI 10.1093/europace/eus359
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Abstract

AIMS: Administrative discharge codes are widely used in epidemiology, but the specificity and sensitivity of this coding is unknown and must be validated. We assessed the validity of the discharge diagnosis of syncope in administrative registers and reviewed the etiology of syncope after workup. METHODS AND RESULTS: Two samples were investigated. One sample consisted of 5262 randomly selected medical patients. The other sample consisted of 750 patients admitted or seen in the emergency department (ED) for syncope (ICD-10: R55.9) in three hospitals in Denmark. All charts were reviewed for baseline characteristics and to confirm the presence/absence of syncope and to compare with the administrative coding. In a sample of 600 admitted patients 570 (95%) and of 150 patients from ED 140 (93%) had syncope representing the positive predictive values. Median age of the population was 69 years (IQR: ± 14). In the second sample of 5262 randomly selected medical patients, 75 (1.4%) had syncope, of which 47 were coded as R55.9 yielding a sensitivity of 62.7%, a negative predictive value of 99.5%, and a specificity of 99.9%. CONCLUSION: ED and hospital discharge diagnostic coding for syncope has a positive predictive value of 95% and a sensitivity of 63%.

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  • The prevalence of syncope as a presenting symptom to the ED ranged from 0.8% to 2.4% in multiple studies in both academic and community settings.

    “The prevalence of syncope as a presenting symptom to the ED ranged from 0.8% to 2.4% in multiple studies in both academic and community settings (49–55).”

    From 2017 ACC/AHA/HRS Guideline for the Evaluation and Management of Patients With Syncope (2017) · cites this paper as [50]

    The Results report syncope in 75 of 5,262 sampled medical patients (1.4%), a figure within the claimed range. But Sample 1 includes both ED and admitted patients at three university hospitals; the paper does not establish an ED-only prevalence range of 0.8%–2.4% across multiple academic and community settings. (LLM, conf=0.82)

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Research works printed but not linked: 20

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Authors
Ruwald, M. H., Hansen, M. L., Lamberts, M., Kristensen, S. L., Wissenberg, M., Olsen, A.-M. S., Christensen, S. B., Vinther, M., Kober, L., Torp-Pedersen, C., Hansen, J., & Gislason, G. H.
Affiliations
  • Copenhagen University Hospital (DK)
  • Herlev Hospital (DK)
  • Gentofte Hospital (DK)
Corresponding author
Ruwald, M. H.
ORCID
Venue
Europace
Publisher
Oxford University Press (OUP)
Published
2012-11-04
Volume
15
Issue
4
Pages
595-600
ISSN
  • 1099-5129 (ISSN-L)
  • 1532-2092
DOI
10.1093/europace/eus359
OpenAlex
W2162693678
Cited by
79
References
0
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 7 · 2018: 11 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 7 · 2012: 1
FWCI
9.36
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • EP Europace (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Research at the University of Copenhagen (University of Copenhagen) (submittedVersion)
Funders
  • Hjerteforeningen (12-04-R90-A3806-22701)
  • Lundbeckfonden (R108-A10415)
  • H. Lundbeck A/S
Topics
  • Health Sciences › Health Professions › Health Information Management › Medical Coding and Health Information
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Surgery › Cardiovascular Syncope and Autonomic Disorders
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Family Practice › Clinical Reasoning and Diagnostic Skills
Keywords
syncope, ICD-10, sensitivity and specificity, emergency department, hospital discharge, positive predictive value, syncope etiology
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Denmark, Emergency Service, Hospital, Female, Humans, Male, Middle Aged, Patient Discharge, Predictive Value of Tests, Retrospective Studies, Risk Factors, Syncope, Reproducibility of Results, Chi-Square Distribution, International Classification of Diseases

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